1. Field of the Invention
The disclosed device relates to a portable shade for providing shaded relief for workers operating in a high sun environment. More particularly, the disclosure relates to a portable shade structure adapted for towing and having an overhead shade which collapses for transport yet increases in size during use. Seating optimized for users to drink and enjoy shaded seats is positioned under the shade surrounding a drink dispenser.
2. Prior Art
Workers operating in a high sunlight environment are under constant threat of over exposure to the sun and of a potential heat stroke from such exposure. This is especially true of farm workers who frequently toil in areas of the country which are very sunny since those areas are generally some of the best places to grow crops which the field workers pick and tend.
Recently, some states in the United States have begun to examine the working conditions for such workers who toil long hours in the hot sun during any given day. A chief concern which has arisen is the availability of a shaded area for those workers to seek refuge from the continual sunlight and to rest in a cooler shaded environment. Many states are now requiring that shaded areas be provided for meals, breaks, and restroom facilities for outdoor workers.
This requirement to provide shade to workers in fields of crops presents a problem in most growing environments where crops are grown which require workers for field hand picking and tending. Shade is generally not readily available since maximizing crop yield dictates that shaded areas, generally provided by trees or structures, be avoided, since crops generally do not grow as well, or as fast in shaded areas. Further, shaded areas in a field require a support structure or a large tree for instance, both of which become impediments to the use of farm machinery to plow and tend the fields.
With upcoming regulations sure to require shaded areas in more states and for all workers in a commercial growing environment using farm workers. Growers will be presented with a major problem due to the current lack of such shaded areas either provided by nature, or because of prior requirements to keep the fields clear for large equipment. Consequently, many commercial growers will be hard pressed to provide the newly required shaded areas to all workers, yet make sure that the shade being provided does not impede farm equipment, and that the shade provided is proximate at all times to the workers seeking it. Proximity is a problem due to the very size of growing areas where workers toil which can be miles across.
As such, there is an unmet need for a device and method for providing shaded areas to workers toiling in the sun in a farming environment. Such a device should be easily positioned proximately to the workers needing it in the acres of growing areas to avoid long walks to seek shade. Such a device should be easily transportable in order to be placed proximate to the workers over the course of a day, week, or month as they traverse to different parts of the fields which may be miles apart. Further, such a device should be removable so as not to be an impediment to large field equipment, and yet be sufficiently stable during such movement so as not to become airborne or tip from the wind load upon the overhead shade structure. Finally, such a device should be adapted in construction to provide sufficient seating for as many workers as possible yet concurrently provide those seated workers with a source of water or liquid while seated or under the shade which may be reached from just about any seat provided. The device herein described is directed toward meeting those needs.